Politics Friday Minnesota Public Radio

It has been an extraordinary month in our nation’s politics. 

There’s been development after riveting development, with each eclipsing the last. And yet, with still 100 days to go till Election Day, this could be just a taste of what’s ahead.

MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with MPR political reporters Mark Zdechlik and Clay Masters about the last four weeks in politics and breaks down what the country has experienced.


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Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

Democrat Joe Biden, the current president, and Republican Donald Trump, the former president, meet Thursday, June 27, for the first debate either candidate has been in since 2020. 

The presumed presidential rematch has been set for months — with both candidates earning the necessary primary wins to gain their party nominations, which they’ll formally accept at conventions later this summer. 

MPR News host Brian Bakst talks with presidential scholars and a former presidential candidate about the work it takes to prepare for a presidential debate and how Thursday’s debate could impact both campaigns over the next few months. 

Politics Friday will return to the airwaves later this fall for our weekly coverage of the 2024 Election. Until then, we’re coming straight to your podcast feeds — occasionally — throughout the summer.

Guests:  


Tim Pawlenty is the former governor of Minnesota. He served from 2003 to 2011 and sought the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. 

Tammy Vigil is the senior associate dean and associate professor of media science at Boston University. Previously, she has done work for the Commission on Presidential Debates. 

Timothy Naftali is a presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. He’s a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.




Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.  

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

This week MPR News and other media partners released the first Minnesota Poll results of the year. The poll, in partnership with MPR News, KARE 11 and the Star Tribune, revealed a close race for president. 

The Minnesota Poll also offered a glimpse at top issues for voters and showed the unease many have about Biden and Trump.  

In this Politics Friday podcast, MPR News host and politics editor Brian Bakst and his guests talk about the poll results and what they suggest about where this election year is headed. 

Politics Friday will return to the airwaves later this fall for our weekly coverage of the 2024 Election. Until then, we’re coming straight to your podcast feeds — occasionally — throughout the summer. 

Guests:  


Craig Helmstetter is the managing partner of the APM Research Lab at Minnesota Public Radio.  

Briana Bierschbach is a politics and government reporter with the Star Tribune.  

John Croman is a politics reporter for KARE 11. 

The 2024 DFL State Convention will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth beginning Friday afternoon.

Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday with a preview of the DFL convention. MPR News host Brian Bakst will talk with DFL Chairman Ken Martin and state Sen. Kelly Morrison, the endorsed candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District.

Later, a roundtable conversation with DFL delegates as they get ready to gather for their party’s convention.

The DFL is in its second year of control of the House, Senate and governor’s office. 

Over the last four months, the DFL passed a rideshare ordinance, a bill on gun restrictions with a tougher penalty for “straw purchasers” and various cannabis resolutions. But there’s also a list of bills that didn’t pass from an equal rights amendment to sports betting bill and a construction projects plan.

MPR News host Brian Bakst talked to Gov. Tim Walz about his take on the 2024 legislative Session. Later, the Republican perspective on this year’s session with Sen. Julia Coleman of Waconia and the assistant minority leader in the Minnesota Senate.  

Plus, MPR Capitol reporters Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters told us more about what got done at the Capitol this year, what got left behind and what it means for the campaign already under way.  

The Minnesota Republican Party convention gets underway at the St. Paul RiverCentre, with the selection of national delegates and endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate on the to-do list. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the party’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner which will be held in association with the convention.  

Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday from the 2024 State Convention for Minnesota Republicans. MPR News host Brian Bakst and the MPR politics team conduct interviews and a look at the scenes at the convention.

Later, a recap of the session-ending sprint at the state Capitol with MPR News senior politics reporters Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters.